MOSCOW, April 9 (Reuters) - Russia sought on Wednesday to ease concerns in Kiev and the West over the presence of troops near the border with Ukraine and denied it was considering invading eastern Ukraine.

"The United States and Ukraine have no reason to be worried," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Russia has stated many times that it is not carrying out any unusual or unplanned activity on its territory near the border with Ukraine that would be of military significance." (Reporting by Katya Golubkova, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Timothy Heriatge)